GREECE: Corfu hospital officials say a British couple found unconscious in their hotel room are out of a coma but still not out of danger for their lives

The director of a Corfu hospital said on Friday (October 27) the British couple found unconscious in their room were now out of a coma but still not out of danger for their lives. Thirty-eight year old Neil Shepherd and his partner 26 year old Ruth Beatson were found in their hotel room in a comatose state by a maid at the Louis Corcyra Beach Hotel on Thursday, with Shepherd's two children lying dead alongside the couple. Police are investating the possibility of poison. 'Today their condition has improved. They are now not in a coma. But their lives are not out of danger," said Corfu General Hospital Director Yannis Mantzaropoulos, and added, "Since doctors do not recognize what the toxic substance was that created their condition and caused the death of the two children, we remain cautious for their health for another 24 hours." Post-mortems on the bodies of the two children, 6-year-old Robert and his 7-year-old sister, Christianne were expected on Friday, police said, while toxicological tests would take a few more days. Corfu Police Chief Anastasios Kakarougas said engineers were checking the gas and air systems in the British family's hotel room. "A special engineering unit is at the moment at the hotel investigating the mechanical infrastructure of the (room). Their investigation is not over. I hope we will have something more after the doctors and police complete their examinations, so we can come to some conclusions." Early indications suggest the cause of death may have been poisoning. The four holidaymakers, on a half-term break, were found early on Thursday at their four-star, beachfront hotel on the Ionian Sea island. Greek media reported the children's mother was expected to fly to Corfu later on Friday after being told of the deaths. The island's acting coroner, Stefanos Gasteratos has said the children died some eight to 10 hours before they were found by the cleaner at the Louis Corcyra Beach hotel. Police said they had not ruled out the possibility that the family had consumed poisonous mushrooms at a local restaurant. A source close to the hotel company noted that none of the other 500 guests had been taken ill, and there was no sign of forced entry into the room nor was there a "do not disturb sign" hanging on the door. A receptionist at the hotel, located on the eastern coast of the island on Gouvia Bay some eight km (five miles) northwest of the town of Corfu, said the family had checked in on Oct. 23 and had not caused any problems during their stay. Other tourists at the hotel which had met the family the day before said they seemed like a loving and happy family and had participated in hotel activities like the other guests. "This is a tragic incident. As long as I remember we have never experienced something like this, such a case before in Corfu. It happened in one of our best hotels on the island with serious management and very efficient operation. We are all waiting for the medical results and we'll see what happens afterwards", said Costas Dendrinos, Vice President of the Corfu Hoteliers Association. This is the third criminal investigation into an incident involving British tourists in Greece in the past few months. In August, a Briton was charged with murder after jumping from a hotel balcony in Crete with his two children, killing one and slightly injuring the other. Earlier this month, another British tourist was charged with attempted murder after his girlfriend was severely injured in a fall from their hotel balcony on the island.

ITN Source | October 28, 2006

Tags:. .engineering. .consumed. .condition. .bay. .sea